Sapporo Snow Festival 2025 kicks off with a sculpture of Ohtani and Decoy

The Sapporo Snow Festival kicked off in Hokkaido on February 4th. The festival comes after record snowfall was observed in some areas in the northern prefecture. The annual event attracts more than 2 million tourists from both inside and outside the country. The festival dates back to 1950 when local middle and high school students made six statues out of snow in downtown Sapporo's Odori Park. Works of various sizes line up along a 1.5 kilometer stretch inside the park. Visitors can enjoy the glistening white snow sculptures during the day. At night projection mapping will illuminate some of the works. There's even an area where parents and children can enjoy slides and snow rafts. Some of the works were made by local high school students. They raced to win first place in a competition that took place on February 4th. Separately, a well-known figure was among the creations this year. Baseball star Otani and his dog Dekopin, more commonly known as decoy in English. The Sapporo Snow Festival will run until February 11th.